Page 41 of His Determined Bear

Apparently, his reply to my messages from time to time said he wasn’t ghosting me. Nash thought maybe he was processing, and I should give him space.

That piece of advice and knowing he would be back for Kelly and Aaron’s wedding was the only reason I hadn’t gotten on the first flight to LA.

My bear and I wanted him close. We didn’t care if it was here or in LA. And I’d never gotten a chance to tell him that.

I sighed and said a prayer that I would get that chance. But until then, since I couldn’t have him close, brunch, lunch, and dinner here were the next best things. Kelly spoke to him daily. He’d even told her what cakes to choose for the wedding. And in what I was learning was Cooper fashion, I was sent explicit instructions on exactly what I was meant to do.

I may have taped the email in my home kitchen. That wasn’t sad. Right?

Doing everything I could to give him space while staying sane was hard. That’s why being around his mom helped. Kelly kept him close for me in her own way, not that it helped the ache in my chest. At least knowing he was okay, every single day kept my bear in check. But I had to admit, it was getting to the point that being here wasn’t enough.

Even checking through his Instagram wasn’t helping. I’d gone as far as downloading Tiktok. That wasn’t stalking, was it?

“Graham.” At the sound of my name, I looked up. Judging by the looks on their faces, I could tell it probably wasn’t the first time they had called my name. It was obvious that I hadn’t been paying attention.I was lost in my thoughts of Cooper.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” I said, looking into blue eyes that were the mirror image of my mates.

“We were just talking about Aaron’s car that’s in the shop,” Kelly said.

“Oh?” I wasn’t sure why they’d needed my attention for that, but I humored them. “I hope it wasn’t anything serious.”

Aaron shook his head, “Nothing like that, just in for the yearly maintenance and a tune-up.”

“Okay?” I made sure to say it slowly since I wasn’t quite sure what they were getting at.

“Cooper.” Both my bear and I sat up at the sound of his name, and I could swear the soon-to-be newlyweds wore a smirk at that. “He’s coming in on the late flight today.”

“I thought he was coming in tomorrow,” I blurted. My bear practically did cartwheels at the fact that our mate would be in town today. Very soon.

“He said he could grab a cab here,” Kelly said. “He said he wasn’t up for making the drive. That’s why he’s getting a flight.”

It felt like I’d missed a part of this conversation, but I didn’t care.

“I can go get him.” Did that sound too eager? Do you really care if it did?

I wasn’t sure if Aaron and Kelly knew what Cooper was to me, but there were times I suspected they did. I’d noticed that the conversation was distinctively Cooper-centric when I was around. Although maybe it wasn’t me. I could imagine Kelly missed her son a lot. I knew how close they were.

“I don’t mind. What time did you say his flight was?” I asked.

“I didn’t,” Kelly said, amusement coating her words. “But he arrives at seven.”

I nodded and glanced down at my watch. It was just past one. If I left by five… actually four, maybe even three, I would be there on time.

“Is he coming in from Butte or Missoula?” I asked. I actually found myself hoping she said Missoula. Even though it was further. It meant I would have longer in the car with Cooper.

I didn’t even care if he didn’t talk to me the whole way home.

* * *

When my eyes landed on my mate, I felt like I was able to take my first full breath in almost a month. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t laid eyes on him in three weeks. He looked beautiful. Although as I studied his face, he looked a little tired.

He hadn’t seen me yet. All three of us had agreed it was best to let him keep thinking Aaron was picking him up.

I didn’t want to lie to Cooper, but I would have agreed to anything for a chance to pick him up. I stepped out from behind the family that seemed to be waiting for their dad, and I knew the exact moment my mate spotted me because he froze like a deer caught in headlights. And I could see his mind racing. He glanced behind him, almost like he was wondering if he could run back the way he came.

I would have been hurt if I hadn’t seen a brief glimpse of happiness on his face, but the guilt mingled with fear that followed was what had me staying where I was. Was my mate afraid of me? What did he have to feel guilty about?

I took a step toward him, and when he didn’t bolt, I took another and another until I was standing in front of him.

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